Progressions
by foxgloves
Summary: Wherein Kagome tries to make friends with her taciturn house guest. could be a collection... if I feel so inclined


A/N: I was thinking about Hiei's alleged love of ice-cream and therefore drafted up this little oneshot. I was bored. I also don't write Hiei/Kagome… like ever, so sorry if it sucks.

Progressions

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Kagome tottered on her heels down the currently empty corridor of her apartment building, wondering how she could barely balance but still feel like she had stepped in cement and let it dry into heavy bricks. Why she even bothered to go on dates anymore, she wondered too; they always left her feeling so weary.

Coming up to her apartment, she paused to search her keys in her small purse, but paused as a familiar energy fringed on her senses and skirted down her spine.

_Not him… not right now, _she thought with a sigh, knocking her forehead against the door with a hollow thud and reluctantly turning the key in the lock and allowing herself into her apartment. Whenever the taciturn little youkai invaded, it was a mystery to the former miko why her space suddenly didn't feel like hers anymore.

"Tadaima," she chimed dully, but felt some pleasure as she unstrapped her heels. _Cute, but killer. I need a bath. And ice-cream. _

The small living room was vacant, but she figured that it would be. Her visitor tended to stick to the meager balcony. Flicking on a light, Kagome slowly meandered her way past the kitchen and to the sliding screen that was slightly ajar, she pulled it open enough to slip through into the muggy air.

"Hn," Hiei greeted, quirking an eye-brow at the tired looking woman in her pretty sundress. "Another date, miko?"

She didn't mistake his inquiry to be any kind of interest, but more a conduit to pass along to her his snide impression of human propensities. He was such a prick sometimes. "Shut up," she whined.

_Why does he even come here? _She beseeched the waning sun with a pout as she settled against the railing with her chin propped in one of her hands and the other arm adding some leverage. He wasn't the friendliest of youkai, sure, but he wasn't untrustworthy. He had his own honour code. Why Koenma made him check-in with his various representatives whenever he made a venture into the Ningenkai was lost on her.

"Did you go to visit Yukina-chan?" she asked.

"Hn."

Kagome repressed an eye-brow twitch. "How is she doing?"

"Hn…" he narrowed his eyes on her profile, and she slanted hers towards him at the same time, looking expectant, and they stared at each other for a few moments before he crossed his arms and elaborated, "She is well."

_I wish he'd just tell her… _Kagome lamented with another pout. As much as she loved to meddle, she knew better than to stick her nose in Hiei's business. Still, his reticence wasn't helping her mood and she felt the need to bug him a little. "I should go visit her and Genkai-sama soon," she decided, resisting the urge to smile, and adding on thoughtfully, "Maybe Shippo will come too."

He was in front of her in a second, making her stumble back away from the railing and fixing her with an impressive glare that should've reduced her to cinders. "Do not bring that foolish kitsune around my sister, miko."

Kagome bit her lip to quell the laughter that wanted to bubble up, and waved her hands in a placating gesture. "Kidding, kidding!"

He huffed and looked away. The last rays of the sun were a backdrop behind him, casting shadows over the planes of his face, his claret eyes warm with annoyance at the realization that she was trying to get a rise out of him… and succeeded.

"Hn."

Giving him a small smile, Kagome felt the tension from her earlier date seeping back into her and felt tired again. "I'm gonna go take a bath," she informed him, "Hang around if you want."

Hiei silently watched her go back inside.

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The bath proved to be just the rejuvenation she'd needed, and she had even gotten fancy and added some bubble-bath for the affair. Changed into pajamas, Kagome wandered into the living room towelling her hair and feeling a lot less antsy.

Hiei's youki still mingled with the silent sound of her apartment, so she knew he had taken her up on her offer to loiter, and she figured he was still out on the balcony. The notion left her slightly at a loss. She had ample experience dealing with moody youkai, but Hiei was proving to be one of the most stubborn she'd encountered. He was very intent on remaining on the fringes of social interaction. She remembered Inuyasha being the same way in the beginning, but there had been a desire for acceptance somewhere in his heart and eventually he'd come around. Dogs were pack animals by nature, though, she reminded herself as she compared the two with a furrowed brow. From what she could understand, Hiei seemed to just want to be alone.

Pondering more on how she could coerce him into a friendship, Kagome padded into the kitchen, her eyes passing over the countertops, noticing a single spoon in the sink and she paused. _One spoon? _She tried to remember what she might've had recently, but couldn't think of anything. There wasn't even a dish to go with it.

Continuing on, she went to the freezer, opened it up and rummaged inside. Procuring the tub, she put it on the counter and moved to the cupboard to get a bowl and into one of the drawers to get a spoon. Already she could taste the creamy chill of the strawberry ice-cream on her tongue, and she pulled the top off eagerly, only to stare down into emptiness.

"My ice-cream…"

Her eyes shifted to the lone spoon in the sink.

She glanced over her shoulder down the short hallway that led to the balcony.

Her eyes narrowed in speculation.

_He didn't…_

Taking the empty tub with her, Kagome strode purposefully to the sliding door and stepped outside. Precisely how she left him, Hiei lounged on the rail, staring off into the dark sky. She made a noise in a bid for his attention, though she knew he knew she was there, and his lack of acknowledgement fueled her irritation further.

"You ate all my ice-cream," she accused.

"Hn." He barely spared her a look.

"Listen here!" she snapped, "you can't just barge into my apartment and eat all my ice-cream!"

He didn't reply, and she opened and closed her mouth, not really knowing what to say, and feeling a little bit ridiculous to be making a fuss about something so trivial. If anything, she was surprised that he even liked something so… human.

She also felt a little swindled because she had really wanted some to enjoy with her movie she was planning to watch. His secret affinity, she assumed it was a secret anyways because she doubted he would admit it, had really thrown a wrench in her plans for the evening.

"You have to repay me," she informed him loftily, and he slanted her a bland look that blatantly read, _oh really?_

With a heavy sigh, Kagome studied him closely, choosing to see through his well-practiced poker-face and appreciate the silver lining. It was pretty tenuous grounds for a friendship, but if he liked ice-cream, she'd make a point to keep it around for him and hope he'd understand the gesture.

It was almost something to know that about him. Considering that, her expression bloomed into a smile. "I can keep a secret."

She missed the quick flash of surprise in his eyes when she went back inside.

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As planned, she turned on her movie and settled with a blanket into the couch, and at some point dozed off.

When she awoke, the credits had long run through and blue light splashed across the walls. She blearily blinked her eyes and allowed them to adjust to the dim lighting and wondered what time it was, and if Hiei still lingered.

Expanding her senses, she let them explore the faint traces of youki that remained, but the energy no longer felt substantial enough to her to imply a solid presence, just wispy remnants and she sighed. Some time ago he had gone. It was just as well, she supposed, staring up at the ceiling. Despite his size, his silence could sometimes be imposing. It made her uncomfortable and he rebelled against her talkative nature in frustrating ways. Again, she wondered why he came around. It was apparent that he liked the silence and she knew she was too persistent for her own good, always talking his ear off.

Inexplicably restless, Kagome tossed the blanket off and pitched herself off the couch, feigning for fresh air.

Stepping out onto the balcony for the third time that evening, the night air was cool and crisp, the sounds of the city faded away. It was quiet enough to hear the wind, the sky clear enough to make out the stars, but never did they shine as bright as in the past.

Crossing her arms over her mid-section she grasped her elbows and held herself as she reminisced. And when she blinked back misty tears that swelled unbidden, Hiei was there when her eyes re-opened.

Her heart jumped and she let out a noise that sounded like a strangled squeak. "Hiei!"

"Hn," he gave her a pitying look, and without a word entered her apartment.

She blinked after him. "Where are you—"

Following him inside, that sense of not belonging in her own home had her back rising as she felt a prickle of irritation. He always was just traipsing around whenever he pleased. This was _her_ home. Still, she lingered on the threshold of the small kitchen.

"I asked what you're doing—"

He went to one of the drawers and pulled it open with a rattle, and she watched curiously as he pulled out a spoon. Next, from within the folds of the cloak he always wore, a bright tub was placed on her little table.

Kagome blinked again.

He watched her, his expression disinterested, but somewhere in his eyes she thought she saw some expectancy.

Slowly walking up to the table, surprised and… delighted, she looked at him with warmth sparkling in her eyes. "Ice-cream!"

"Hn…"

Mindless of what she was doing, she touched his arm and he stiffened. Ducking her head, she smiled at him. "Thank you_," _she enthused, adding, "Have some with me?"

She was a whirlwind of excitement as she breezed through the kitchen grabbing bowls and an extra utensil.

Out of principle, he didn't have any.

She ate happily, and the silence that followed was almost… companionable.

As she cleared her dish away, a thought occurred to her. "Hiei?"

He didn't reply, so she went ahead with her inquiry. "How did you pay for it?'

"Do not concern yourself," he ordered.

Kagome turned away from the sink, her lips pressed together. "You didn't—"

"Miko, I said—"

"…steal it, did you?"

A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth, and it was the closest thing to a smile she'd ever seen. "Hn."

The admission clarified her suspicions and she blanched, but inside she still felt gratified that maybe he would give her a chance.


End file.
